{"id":317347,"date":"2025-01-28T11:20:12","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T16:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=317347"},"modified":"2025-01-28T11:20:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T16:20:12","slug":"reflection-a-toast-and-an-award-best-entrepreneur-of-the-year-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/special\/reflection-a-toast-and-an-award-best-entrepreneur-of-the-year-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection, a toast and an award: BEST ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR | 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

They are not magicians, but they invent to avoid closing, to stay afloat and prosper. Some, harassed by the pandemic, like Deyni Terry Abreu, made their own fabrics from scraps (they brought a dress made of carpet to Fashion Week in Turin).<\/span><\/p>\n

Others, like Lauren Fajardo, put buttons on because they could only hire a seamstress. There were those who, like Alejandro Pe\u00f1alver, slept for a while in a small room that in the mornings served as a photography studio after hiding the bed and other telltale clues.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Many stories of creativity, daring and resilience were heard during a panel sponsored by <\/span>OnCuba<\/b> and the British Embassy in Havana on January 20.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the meeting was taking place, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, was taking office for his second term. One of his first decisions was to return Cuba to the list of state sponsors of terrorism, a status that complicates the possibilities of all economic actors on the island to carry out their business actions naturally and effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

The host of the event, Sir George Hollingbery, ambassador, acted as moderator and panel participant, recounting his own experiences as an entrepreneur in his country. The topics discussed revolved around three aspects on which the jury of the award focused its attention to choose the winner: profitability; innovation and creativity; and social impact.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before becoming a diplomat, Hollingbery tried seven or eight businesses, accumulating experience in the business world. Of these, \u201csix were terrible ideas,\u201d he said. But one did succeed: a small family business dedicated to providing services in veterinary clinics and pet stores.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Massiel
Massiel Matos, project official at the British Embassy, \u200b\u200bmoderated the panel. Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to the businessman turned diplomat, who is now concluding his three-year term at the head of the embassy, there is a triad of recommendations and realities that any entrepreneur must take into account.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first is to <\/span>have a good idea<\/b>; the second is that the business is going to cost much <\/span>more money and time than expected<\/b> and, the third \u2014 extremely important \u2014 is to <\/span>take things slowly<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ambassador
Ambassador Sir George Hollingbery shared his experiences during the panel. Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the very particular Cuban scenario, which Hollingbery has scrutinized with an analyst\u2019s magnifying glass and the phlegm of his origin, he has his own suggestions.
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He recommends starting a business model that already has successful replicas in other parts of the world, always being very careful with social responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCuban citizens have been educated to have a social impact in what they do,\u201d he said, but warns that \u201cyou cannot have a social impact without income.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The overwhelming shortages on the island are continuous lines of pressure on private businesses that must help the communities in which they operate.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Deyni
Deyni Terry Abreu, economist, designer and lawyer at the head of BarbarA\u2019s and Semana Hispana Moda. Photo: AMD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Deyni Terry Abreu: Solidarity or philanthropy? MSMEs in the popular eye<\/b><\/p>\n

Although there is in fact a culture of solidarity or philanthropy that most do not shy away from, especially in emergency situations, MSMEs are often collectively perceived as islands of abundance called to fill the gaps left by the State.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSocial work in Cuba is atypical and exhausting,\u201d said Deyni Terry Abreu, economist, designer and lawyer at the head of <\/span>BarbarA\u2019s<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Semana Hispana Moda<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inspired by her mother Barbara, who had nine children, worked in a sugar mill and made clothes for her offspring, the business is located in Jes\u00fas Mar\u00eda, one of the historic neighborhoods of deep Havana.<\/span><\/p>\n

People take <\/span>BarbarA\u2019s<\/span><\/i> as a fairy godmother. Recently, the venture, in alliance with an international entity, provided medicines for more than 200 people in the neighborhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

It also makes donations of various kinds or depreciates clothing for purchase by low-income pockets. Nearly a hundred families have benefited from such actions.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Lauren Fajardo, fashion designer and co-founder and creative director of <\/span>Dador<\/span><\/i>, a Cuban ethical fashion brand based in Havana, social responsibility means promoting ethnic equality, women\u2019s empowerment, ethical and fair compensation, and zero waste.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the health crisis, she joined the delivery enterprise <\/span>Mandao<\/span><\/i> for a donation campaign with food from the Villa Hermosa farm, which benefited some 200 families.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Alejandro
Alejandro Pe\u00f1alver, economist and leader of the commercial platform CBMtienda.com and the CBM photography studio. Photo: AMD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alejandro Pe\u00f1alver: Taxes<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the most important contributions of private enterprises in Cuba is taxes, and unfortunately there is still a percentage of tax evasion, said Alejandro Pe\u00f1alver.<\/span><\/p>\n

An economist by profession and former <\/span>Chevening<\/b><\/a> scholarship recipient, he trained in the British scholarship scheme to train high-performance professionals and turn them into local leaders or entrepreneurs in their countries of origin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Creator of the <\/span>CubaModela<\/span><\/i> agency, now at the head of the online commerce platform <\/span>CBMtienda.com<\/span><\/i> and the CBM photography studio, known for offering comprehensive services to entrepreneurs and enterprises that wish to improve their presence in the market, Pe\u00f1alver points out that the tax rates for entrepreneurs on the island are among the highest in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

With his online store, the young economist achieves between 10%-30% gross profitability on direct costs and does not recommend aiming for high profits, because in the end \u201cyou get less, as the price is very high.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Pe\u00f1alver, a completely new private sector in turn is required to make a high contribution, \u201cwhen they are not even ready for themselves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At a global level, the mortality rate of MSMEs is very high. It is estimated that 70% of small and medium-sized businesses <\/span>close within five years<\/b><\/a> in Latin America. Despite this, MSMEs represent <\/span>90% of all enterprises<\/b><\/a> and are responsible for almost 70% of both jobs and gross domestic product (GDP) worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Cuba, the survival rate is unknown. It is known that more than 11,000 have been registered, since their approval in September 2021, but how many of these are currently operational is an enigma, at least publicly.<\/span><\/p>\n

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At the end of the panel, the guests were able to share in the semi-outdoor spaces of the house at 15 and Paseo, one of the architectural icons of the Vedado neighborhood, on a cool day in the Cuban winter.<\/span><\/p>\n

The DeCancio Foods brand was in charge of providing the drinks, as a way of supporting the entire event in which more than 70 people \u2014 among them, the competing ventures and others with prestige gained in the sector \u2014 were able to exchange ideas and impressions about the present and the very challenging future that awaits the Cuban economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"World
World record holder and Olympic champion in the 110-meter hurdles race, Dayron Robles. Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dayron Robles: A reconversion run or a reconversion in a hurry<\/b><\/p>\n

World record holder and Olympic champion in the 110-meter hurdles race, <\/span>Dayron Robles<\/b><\/a> (Guant\u00e1namo, 1986) is another of the sports stars who, once retired, have sought fortune in the private sector.<\/span><\/p>\n

The best-known case is that of <\/span>Javier Sotomayor<\/b><\/a>, the best high jumper in history, who in 2021 opened a private business in his former home in the Miramar neighborhood, the Bar-Restaurant 2.45, in homage to his 1993 world record, still standing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Robles was one of the guests at the award ceremony for the Best Entrepreneur of 2024. The former runner lives on the outskirts of Havana, in the Cotorro municipality, where he manages a small farm where he plants using agroecological methods to supply his tapas bar and his hostel in Havana, a venture that came about after the closure of his tourist rental business that collapsed with the closure of borders due to the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most sports careers are fleeting.\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

Everything starts there, when the sports career ends and in the meantime, in 2012, an injury made me think about retirement and ask myself what to do with the four cents you have, how are you going to invest them and how you take the risk in your country to do things that are different. I think that was what led me to start my own business.<\/span><\/p>\n

Was it very difficult to move from the sports world to the business world?<\/b><\/p>\n

Definitely, yes. I started out knowing nothing and it was like self-financing a career, where you start to find obstacles that are painful, because there is emotional wear and tear; you lose time, money, and still suffer setbacks, like on the track, but live the opportunity of experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your ventures have been far from sports.\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

Since 2012 I have been getting into certain niches, setting up structures that are unknown to me, because, as you say, none of my ventures have to do with sports, which although it is \u201cthe right of the people,\u201d I have not been able to do anything that has to do with sports. But I have been learning and connecting.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you think of an award like this that promotes entrepreneurship in Cuba?<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s great. It\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve seen something like this. I think we are having an identity and we are awarding the identity of the Cuban entrepreneur to make visible that we are moving forward. This type of meeting helps you connect with people from other specialties and you mutate and mature and enjoy the process of learning and undertaking, all in order to make Cuba a little better.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you expect from the immediate future for Cuba and for entrepreneurship?<\/b><\/p>\n

We have to adapt. Unfortunately, we do not have the decision in our hands about what we can or cannot do on many issues. Each one of us will have to make a personal effort in order to sustain ourselves over time in this type of community.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Lauren
Lauren Fajardo (Havana, 1983). Fashion designer and co-founder and creative director of Dador. Photo: Otmaro Rodr\u00edguez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lauren Fajardo: \u201cWe can\u2019t be Gucci. We\u2019re going to be us\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Lauren Fajardo (Havana, 1983) is a repatriate. She lived in the United States and remembers that when she traveled to the island she found everything old and museum-worthy, \u201ca country frozen in time.\u201d Her perspective changed as she penetrated the Cuban social fabric.<\/span><\/p>\n

With a design degree from ISDi (Higher Institute of Industrial Design), Lauren returned permanently during the second Obama administration, when the thaw between the two countries boosted private businesses in Havana and other tourist cities.<\/span><\/p>\n

At first, she didn\u2019t have the tools to start an enterprise. \u201cThere was no business model, but there was a clear objective: to make conscious, ethical, sustainable fashion with a social impact.\u201d When she started in 2018, \u201cpeople thought we were crazy for setting prices.\u201d They started with a seamstress and the three partners as assistants. Now they are self-sustaining and profitable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is your clothing venture called Dador?<\/b><\/p>\n

My mother, Rosario C\u00e1rdenas, is an admirer of Lezama Lima and I grew up in that cultural and poetic environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

With your return to the island, you remind me of the song \u201cHabana,\u201d by X Alfonso, when he said: <\/b>Muchacho, \u00bfqu\u00e9 t\u00fa haces virando pa\u2019 ca?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

When I came from the United States, I was greatly impressed by the private sector and its influence on the opening and the possibilities of starting something of our own that we did not have when we graduated from ISDi. Besides Dador being a fashion brand, it represents an image, a culture, a way of changing mentality. So it made a lot of sense to return and be part of the change that was taking place here.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe I\u2019m being unfair with what I\u2019m going to say, but you returned to a country where Western brands are greatly admired, especially among young people, and yet you claim your brand and say that Cuba has something to say in the midst of this commercial hegemony.\u2026 Are you romanticizing with a gesture of nationalism?<\/b><\/p>\n

No, I\u2019m not romanticizing. It\u2019s the reality. I have traveled the world and I realize that Cuba is unique and so I defend the sense of preserving that exclusivity, despite all the difficulties. I call it sustainability out of necessity.<\/span><\/p>\n

It forces us to adapt to the various difficulties we have here, but at the same time these are possibilities and sometimes we think we are many years behind, when in reality we are at the forefront. For example, in this movement of sustainability, recycling, social impact, I consider that Cuba is at the forefront.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you say this with full responsibility?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, because it is part of our idiosyncrasy. It is not only about profitability, but how can I have a social impact that influences my community. And that happens naturally here, when in other countries it is like a clich\u00e9 and in the fashion industry when we recycle we call it green washing. But recycling here is part of the need and becomes something intrinsic in your business model.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aren\u2019t you washing your face here?<\/b><\/p>\n

No, it\u2019s just that we recycle everything, we reuse everything, and it\u2019s already part of the business model.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking back at your life in the United States and your life in Cuba, did you make the right decision?<\/b><\/p>\n

Starting a business is difficult anywhere in the world. The thing is that in Cuba everything is yet to be done. When we started in 2018, there were very few of us, no one was doing this and we didn\u2019t even have a business model because it didn\u2019t exist and we created it as we grew. We weren\u2019t a restaurant, an Airbnb, which was the most common thing back then.<\/span><\/p>\n

Compared to a Prada model, a Gucci model…. Would there be pride in wearing a Dador?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, why not? Really, when you analyze it, you\u2019re talking about two brands that initially started out as family businesses. (Guccio Gucci was a doorman at a London hotel and the Prada brothers started making leather suitcases).<\/span><\/p>\n

You have to adapt. I\u2019m in Cuba, creating a new brand. There is no perception of clothing made in Cuba. The idea of <\/span>\u200b\u200b<\/span>a Cuban product, apart from cigars and rum, is that it is of poor quality. Before thinking of any international brand as a reference, I have to think about making a product that has value and educating about that product that is the result of the expertise and intelligence that exists in this country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are there Dador collections on international catwalks?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, we have presented ourselves on catwalks at many events, both in Italy and other European countries, as well as in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

And how has the reception been?<\/b><\/p>\n

Very good. It is about changing the concepts about Cuba, which are already pre-established, which are clich\u00e9s, such as rum, the mulatto woman, cigars, beaches, vintage cars. We serve a Cuban concept, but with a universal aesthetic and that helps it to be accepted.<\/span><\/p>\n

We cannot make something luxurious, we cannot be Gucci, we are going to be ourselves. When we made the <\/span>Malec\u00f3n<\/span><\/i> collection, which are completely rectilinear dresses, you see it and say this could be Scandinavian or French, but it is really Cuban, inspired by our visual culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Best Entrepreneur of 2024 Award for Yucasabi, dedicated to the ancestral cassava bread<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n